[PapaBravo]

Originally Posted by lovecars21

Great job done there Pawan!
Very well written travelogue. I wish you had got the leaves 15 days before then we could have driven together to Siachen.
Last year we got severe snowfall while returning from Nubra and this year it was your turn. Khardungla looks amazing after snowfall.
5 stars

Thanks Arun. Means a lot coming from you. Khardung La was indeed amazing after snowfall.

Originally Posted by Samba

Lovely travelogue Pawan da. Your Duster looks to be on its home ground! Even we thought of driving to Siachen base camp last year but time didn't permit.

Ladakh drive is addictive. Am sure you have already started planning for your 2nd Ladakh road trip!

Rated 5*

Thanks a lot Samba!! Duster indeed looks at home in those backdrops.

Originally Posted by SanC

Pawan , the TL is superb as always , happy miles ahead and many such happy miles uploaded as TL !!!! superb

Thank You SanC !!

Originally Posted by abhayankara

WOW! Another travelogue from kolkata to Leh

Amazing photos and a very well written travelogue. Rated 5 stars.

Thanks you for the appreciation abhayankara.

Originally Posted by adi_sun

Superb travelog, would you remember how many places was the AWD required?
With each passing year the road to manali is improving, how was your experience?

Hello adi_sun, Thank you. We did not require it anywhere in the regular circuit except for

a. The time when we went to the Indus river bed. There was unnecessary wheel spin which we avoided using 4Lock.
b. Crossing a big stream on the way to SBC.
c. Going uphill on Magnetic hill for fun.

We were on auto engage mode while on some snow patches.

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Making good use of AWD, aren't you!

This is the season for Leh TL to come in and I am sure there are even more in line. We also have one trip in planning.

Thanks for sharing and nice pics. SBC is indeed a good place to visit. Great that you guys added it to the trip impromptu. Cheers!

Thank you Ace F355 for the kind words. Although we didn't use AWD too many times on the regular track, I won't deny that it is the AWD that gives you confidence for going off the track. We didn't think twice taking shortcuts. Sand dunes etc were avoided since there was no backup vehicle. All the best for your Leh trip. Let me know if you require any help.

Originally Posted by //M

This is a wonderful travelogue. Rating it 5-stars.

Leh to Manali in a day is a feat in itself. I never knew it can be done in just one day !!

Need some info on the Hundar - Agham - Shyok - Tangtse stretch. While in the pics it looks doable for a sedan, need your inputs regarding this. Is it wise to drive a sedan on this route?

Thanks //M. Leh Manali was long & tiring but the route is very scenic which made the trip enjoyable. This route is quite underrated as well.

Agham-Shyok River bed route can be done in a high GC sedan since it does not have big craters but bad road surface. Occasional boulder driving needs to be done with care. A sedan would take a much longer time since the driver will have to be very cautious. Low GC + High wheelbase sedan are best avoided. The time when this route is taken also affects the condition of the road. After monsoon, the water crossings become deep & there number increases.

Originally Posted by Red Panda

Brilliant travelogue Pawan. Absolutely loved it. Hulk looks so awesome with the mountains in the background.
Can you provide the details of the various accommodations that you chose to stay and any contact numbers of the same. I feel that will come in handy for anyone who wishes to visit these regions.
.

Thanks a lot Avishek. We stayed majorly in Army accommodations so wont be able to help much in this aspect. The places where we stayed in Hotels are :

a. Kanpur - Hotel Manoj International
b. Manali - The Manali Lodge
c. Varanasi - Radisson Hotel

Regards,

Pawan

[Waspune]

Great travelogue Pawan. Nowadays its raining Leh travelogues. Your Hulk in 4X4 avatar would have felt at home in these condidtions. Would like you to pen down on how ur Duster performed

[STraiTDriVE]

Admirable travelogue .. awesome pic and description. Loved it thoroughly. How was your car performance ? Did you face any fatigue due to long driving ?

And am really curious to know how many fuel stations you have in these isolated areas. Is there adequate supply for so many vehicles coming in or you have to often depend on cans ?

[sudev]

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Day 3 : Pathankot to Srinagar[/b][/u][/i]

We had planned Jammu to Srinagar via Mughal road. As per plan, we left Pathankot early since we wanted to cross Shopian belt which is very close to LOC in........ regular traffic of Jammu-Srinagar highway & reached Srinagar by 5 pm.

Not much difference if you travel by the main road. So interesting to use this and reach almost in similar time.

[gmhossain]

Congratulation Pawan on successful completion of your Ladakh trip! Looks like, you are not only fast behind the wheel but also equally fast in putting up your travelogue. It was quite unique to read your driving experience to Siachen base camp. Keep it up!

Cheers,

[vdm295]

Lovely travelogue Pawan & congrats on completing the Leh, Ladhak circuit. How was the performance of the hulk when the temperature were below zero degree. Did you have any problems starting the car in the morning? Did you take any preventive measures before you parked the car for the day.

[Sachi]

Very well written Love the way you call your AWD Hulk

[pduttaghy]

Great Travelogue PapaBravo accompanied by some amazing Photographs. How I envy you guys having fun at Leh and Ladakh. We can only dream about it.

[amitjha086]

Awesome travelogue. Went through a few more travelogues to Laddakh over last few weeks on TeamBHP. Thinking to make a trip coming year. Would like to know if all the roads that you traveled are motorable throughout the year.

[Nariman]

Hi Pawan.
Can you please share any tips about how one can go to Siachen Base camp? There are conflicting news as to the army permission required.
I met a person last year who said he went to Siachen base camp without any permission. Any information in this regard would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Nariman

[PapaBravo]

Originally Posted by Waspune

Great travelogue Pawan. Nowadays its raining Leh travelogues. Your Hulk in 4X4 avatar would have felt at home in these condidtions. Would like you to pen down on how ur Duster performed

Thank you Waspune. Duster performed without an issue in these conditions. Duster usually is a little sensitive to dirty air filter. So I cleaned it once in Leh & replaced it with the spare that I was carrying, on the way to Sarchu. Apart from this, Duster performed flawlessly in this region. On thing you have to take care of, since the air is quite thin at higher altituded, the torbo kick my get a little delayed. But you just get used to it.

Originally Posted by STraiTDriVE

Admirable travelogue .. awesome pic and description. Loved it thoroughly. How was your car performance ?

Thank You STraiTDriVE. Glad you liked it. Duster performance query answered above.

Did you face any fatigue due to long driving ?

My answer won't be applicable for everyone. I did not feel fatigue since I am used to driving 18 hours a day. We often do Kolkata-Lucknow (1000kms) in a day.

And am really curious to know how many fuel stations you have in these isolated areas. Is there adequate supply for so many vehicles coming in or you have to often depend on cans ?

Click here to get the map that I used for fuel guidance. Tsk1979 has done a wonder compilation in his Ladakh guide thread. It is very useful.

Adequate supply would depend on many factors such as your cars fuel capacity hence the range, the FE, and most importantly the travel circuit. All vehicles do not need to depend on cans as they make Leh there base camp & go to places from Leh & return. Circuits like Agham-Shyok or Hanle would require can dependence if you car's fuel capacity is low.

Originally Posted by sudev

Not much difference if you travel by the main road. So interesting to use this and reach almost in similar time.

Infact less time. We met a person in Sonmarg while waiting for Zojila to open who took the main highway & took 14 hrs to cover Jammu-Srinagar. We completed this patch in 10 hours. The only problem is the risk factor involved.

Originally Posted by gmhossain

Congratulation Pawan on successful completion of your Ladakh trip! Looks like, you are not only fast behind the wheel but also equally fast in putting up your travelogue. It was quite unique to read your driving experience to Siachen base camp. Keep it up!

Cheers,

Thank you Hossain Sa'ab. I though it would be better to pen it down before I forget the little things. I am glad you liked it.

Originally Posted by vdm295

Lovely travelogue Pawan & congrats on completing the Leh, Ladhak circuit. How was the performance of the hulk when the temperature were below zero degree. Did you have any problems starting the car in the morning? Did you take any preventive measures before you parked the car for the day.

Thank You vdm295. We faced no problem anywhere. I beleive the temp never went below zero at the places we did our night stays. But it would be near zero for sure. I used a blanket to cover the bonnet just for one night when it was too cold. Didn't feel the need otherwise. BE sure to preheat twice before starting if you feel that the weather is too cold.

Originally Posted by Sachi

Very well written Love the way you call your AWD Hulk

Thanks Sachi. The name was given by my wife & now I like it as well. Goes with the color as well.

Originally Posted by pduttaghy

Great Travelogue PapaBravo accompanied by some amazing Photographs. How I envy you guys having fun at Leh and Ladakh. We can only dream about it.

Thank You pduttaghy for the nice comments. But why ? Why not drive down. I m sure from Guwahati, you would take 4 days more to complete the same circuit.

Originally Posted by amitjha086

Awesome travelogue. Went through a few more travelogues to Laddakh over last few weeks on TeamBHP. Thinking to make a trip coming year. Would like to know if all the roads that you traveled are motorable throughout the year.

Thank You Amijha086. No, Roads are not motorable throughout the year. They usually close from November to Mar/April. You will have to follow news on Ladakh in order to get the news.

Originally Posted by Nariman

Hi Pawan.
Can you please share any tips about how one can go to Siachen Base camp? There are conflicting news as to the army permission required.
I met a person last year who said he went to Siachen base camp without any permission. Any information in this regard would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Nariman

Hi Nariman. Army permission is mandatory. I saw many people who had gone till Sasoma & then returned back. You cannot cross Sasoma checkpost without permission, SBC is still 47 kms away. SBC is highly restricted place, there is no way one can go without permission. I saw one more civilian vehicle there which was used by an army officer & his family as a taxi. So nt sure about the past, but now it is pretty strict. Permission is almost not given.

Regards,

Pawan

[basubhatta]

I am overwhelmed. Kudos!
I just want to know one thing, did you feel any difficulty or did your car behaved differently because of lower amount of oxygen?

[avisidhu]

Great TL! I am amazed at the Kms you have managed to put on some days. And Leh to Manali is really commendable, the best most people attempt is to reach Keylong.

The Mughal road seems to be the favored route for most BHPians, is there some decent stay option on this route near Peer ki Gali?

[Aum]

Great travelogue Pawan, relived my trip back in 2014 though your photographs and narration. Beautifully written.

[Venku2015]

Exhilarating travelogue to say the least! Beautiful pics combined with short and crisp narration crowns it one of the best T-logs on Team-BHP.

Your Hulk sure did a great job and add to that the convenience of AWD does help a lot in the LEH terrain. This one travelogue does inspire me a lot to do yet another Ladakh tour and hopefully with wifey this time